Monthly Archives: November 2013

This Year Forrest Bird Charter School (FBCS) might be facing a devastating loss; the death of the yearbook. Earlier in the year student council tried to revive this important tradition amongst high school years by giving the student body an ultimatum; purchase 100 yearbooks or wave goodbye. It’s now the end of November and saying that this attempt was unsuccessful would be the understatement of the year. FBCS’s journalism teacher, Mark Webber, stated that he doesn’t think students are actually understanding that if they don’t reach this goal of 100 yearbooks they are saying goodbye to the yearbook not just this year, but forever. Is FBCS really okay with that? Junior Tommy Smith said “I would really like to have a yearbook, and I know a lot of other people agree with me; It’s just that people our age have so many things on their mind and remembering to buy something that isn’t tangible yet is something that is hard to make the top of our priority lists. I think yearbook would have a better chance if they were pre-purchased by the school and then put on sale for the students, that way we could receive them the same day we pay for them.”
Many of you are asking why exactly the goal is set at 100, and what happens if we don’t reach it. The goal was set at 100 yearbooks because the yearbook company FBCS goes through has a minimum purchase requirement of 100 yearbooks for the page number and price break that the FBCS staff wanted. If the student body were to fulfill this goal a yearbook class would be created next year once again and a yearbook teacher would be budgeted in. On the contrary, if the student body fails to meet the yearbook goal, they will be looking at the yearbook’s less-qualified, younger cousin; a Shutterfly photograph book equipped with only 20 pages, a page amount that isn’t sitting well with the staff. Educational Leader and English teacher, Mary Jensen, stated that with the new addition of about 60 FBCS students; it’s going to take approximately 15-18 pages just for student pictures. That doesn’t leave much room for “fun” pictures of anything else such as pictures of drama districts, extra-curricular activities, prom, etc. Without these events it actually defeats the purpose of the yearbook. After all, Mary Jensen, Educational Leader and administrator of FBCHS, may have a point; think about it, do you really want 20 pages filled with nothing, but other student’s portraits?
As of right now, everything is up in the air, and the power to decide what happens to the yearbook ultimately lies in the hands of the student body. This means that as a whole the student body really needs to ask themselves, “Do we want a 2013-14 yearbook? Is this year important enough to us to document the memories we have made as high-school students?” If so, then it’s time to step up and make a commitment and effort towards making the yearbook happen this 2013-14 school year and to secure its future.

Now that Marijuana is legal, adults can use it recreationally, but only in Washington and Colorado. Last year it was voted in each state that marijuana would be allowed recreationally and purchasable in sanctioned “pot shops.” Only customers over the age of 21 can legally walk in and purchase up to an ounce of different strains and food based items infused with Marijuana. Although it is legal in Washington to use marijuana recreationally, however, it may only be used in private and never in public places. Legalized marijuana won’t mean much in terms of Idaho, at least not for the foreseeable future, but it may lead to more drug related arrests coming from Washington into any state that is still criminalized. It is definitely legal to use marijuana in Washington and Colorado, but they will both have very different laws regarding the manufacture, selling, storage, and possession of their product.

In Washington, you can buy marijuana, but only about a quarter of an ounce at a time. In Colorado, anyone who goes to the dispensary can leave the premises with up to an entire ounce of the product although it must be kept in a child safe container. Washington has set in place a similar way of tracking the marijuana through the processes it goes through before being sold, which includes growing, clipping, packaging, distribution, and finally selling to the customer. A computer chip travels with each specific plant, and the chip can be used to track the plants so nothing can go missing.

The state of Washington has openly accepted that the general population of its citizens wants marijuana to be legal, whereas Colorado towns have taken opposition to the new law even though its citizens want it. Most Colorado towns will only let already active marijuana dispensaries to remain in business, and will not allow even those shops to apply

for a recreational business license until well into 2016 when other new to the scene stores may apply for those licenses as well.

Colorado is being called the “New Amsterdam” of the US, but the governor of the state, John

Hickenlooper, has made it clear to the state and all cities within that marijuana stores are not allowed within the main streets of any city. Also, advertisements are not allowed anywhere that it may be seen by minors. Commercials may be aired, but only if there is without a doubt that less than 25% of the viewers will be under the age of 21. It may be strange to think about having a marijuana store close to you, especially if you live close to a big city. Spokane, Washington will have marijuana dispensaries by the end of next year. Five stores will be in the city limits of Spokane, while another 15-20 will be opening around Spokane County within the next 3 years and 334 state wide.

If you are in the mindset that you want nothing to do with marijuana and are staunchly opposed to the subject and the plant, Idaho should be fine for you for now. Every time the state tries to pass a bill bringing medicinal marijuana to the state; it has been shot down time and time again.

If you are of the pot smoking variety, don’t expect to be lighting up at cheap prices either, the states will be putting a heavy tax on the substance in question and will be implementing them for each step. Washington ha

Whether you like it or not, marijuana is legally making its way to cities and states near you, and is believed that it will continue forward to the rest now that it has been decriminalized in these two prominent states.s imposed a high 25% tax on each step, bringing the price to an easy $12 a gram which is designed to be competitive to illicit street prices. Washington has put a cap on how much product can be grown each year, which equals to about 80 tons, 40 for marketable smoking substance and the other for other substances (I.e. food or baked goods). The cap is placed to stop diversion and illegal smuggling of the substance to other states, which is a major concern to the Washington State Liquor Control Board. Colorado has yet to impose a cap, but state officials have said they will if it becomes necessary. Washington is not stricter on all fronts, unlike Colorado who says they will not allow out of state investing. Washington has said that you must live in state for at least 2 years minimum to be able to invest in growth or manufacturing of marijuana.

Yes, it’s official. People care so much about their new Xbox or PlayStation that they will kill to get it. What have we come to as a nation?

Black Friday does get heated; sure, that one guy who took the last copy of the new movie or game got you pretty ticked, but bringing pepper spray and spraying them in the face and then taking their items is crossing the line.

One of our own students witnessed someone get mugged over a Wii a few years back. Mario Bushell watched a fellow shopper hit a person over the head with a frying pan. This incident was the result of the past Black Friday, all over a simple Wii system.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, and it is the largest retail shopping day in the world. It has historically been the day when large companies have certain items largely discounted. It has a history of violence and even death. It is the start of the official Christmas shopping season.

It was up until a few years ago an American holiday, but many countries around the world have recently taken up the trend too.

Many people use Black Friday for their Christmas shopping, and it gets very, very crowded. People often begin to line up hours before the shopping equivalent of Shanghai rush hour.

Why is this day so violent? What drives people over the edge? After all, if people are shooting each other over toys, imagine what we’ll do to the guy that bumps into us!

Many people are struggling in the present-day economy. Black Friday offers great deals on things that their kids want. Parents want to give their kids the best they can for a cheaper price.

Many parents resort to violence to get their kids the things they want. One woman cut in front of 300+ people in a Black Friday line. Her items were taken, and later she said that she just wanted to get her son the newest toy, and that it probably wouldn’t be there anymore. “Everyone was doing it” she said.

“I was trying to get a videogame, and some dude picked me up, and threw me across the aisle, and threw a bunch of clothes at me.” Mario Bushell, FBCS student.

Black Friday is getting more and more violent as the years pass by.

Wal-Mart has announced that it will be moving the start of Black Friday up two hours from last year. This will start the rush earlier, essentially turning it into Black Thursday Night.

Many people think that Black Friday is a great day to get good deals on items you like. Others think that it should be removed from the calendar.

Some people who have never been to Black Friday don’t understand the hype. I mean $150 off a flat screen television is pretty sweet, but would you really risk your life for it?

Black Friday, (or Black Thursday Night now), is a shopping event that offers big savings on popular items. Whether or not you want to risk your life for a new TV is your choice. But if you’re going to go to Black Thursday Night this year, you might want to come prepared.

We see it on TV every day, Drugs are everywhere, all over the world. Mostly, we see famous people using drugs and ruining their careers. Drugs can take control of your life if you let them. Celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Miley Cyrus, Drew Barrymore, Macaulay Culkin, and Ashley Olsen are known for drug stories. Our childhood idols are changing their personalities so suddenly that we don’t even understand what happened. That was my reaction when I heard about Miley Cyrus and her life-changing performances.

Miley Cyrus’ life seemed to be a perfect world. She had a career, a fiancé, family and friends. Little girls dreamed about having her life and were jealous.

“What happened Miley?” Now lots of people are asking “Why is she doing that? Is she on drugs? That’s not the Miley we know”. That’s what almost everyone is thinking, but do you know what she is going through? She broke up with her fiancé because he seemed to be having an affair with another woman. Her relationship of many years, and long-term show, Hannah Montana, are simultaneously over.

Miley started to change her lifestyle. She doesn’t care what people are thinking about her. She doesn’t have to be perfect. She’s doing whatever she wants to do. So, she started to smoke weed and to twerk. Twerking is basically exotic dancing. You remember her performance with Robin Thicke at the VMA’s ? The general opinion about Miley Cyrus is crazy, but she’s not. She is still the same, only a few different views than a year ago. People judge her because of that performance but why? She’s being herself, she lives her life, and she doesn’t hurt anybody?

We all know about drugs. But, do you know all of the mainstream drugs? For example, the new trend drug ‘krokodil’. The drug is easily made from codeine, iodine and red phosphorus. The street name in Russia for homemade Desomorphine is “krokodil”. You only have to take this drug once, and you are already addicted to it. It has its name, because it changes your skin. The skin looks green, just like crocodile skin. And it could gets worse, your skin opens. In bad cases, you can see your bones. If you try this drug, it is your doom. Most users of krokodil are dead within 2 years of using.

And do you know Molly? Maybe you’ve heard about ‘her’. It’s the club drug ecstasy. Sold from $15 to $50 a dose. This illegal white powder is on the rise in popularity with the support of popular artists whose lyrics describe it as one of the party drugs to take. It gives you the ‘feel-good’ feeling for three to six hours. Many users find themselves overdosing too easily and many have died. Only a few days ago two young women died in a club because of molly. Having Molly as a friend, might not be a good thing for everyone.

Molly’s good friend Mary Jane is also very big this year. It’s Cannabis, also known as marijuana. This drug is meant to be a kind of medicine, but lots of people use it for other reasons. Cannabis is often consumed for its psychoactive and physiological effects, which can include heightened mood or euphoria, relaxation, and increase in appetite. Unwanted side-effects can sometimes include a decrease in short-term memory, dry mouth, blushing of the eyes, and feelings of paranoia or anxiety. The best spot to get Mary Jane is Amsterdam, the Netherlands legalized Marijuana.

An anonymous resource started smoking cigarettes and weed when he was eleven. He also tried weed, cocaine, alcohol, special mushrooms, heroin, molly, ecstasy, lsd, dmt, just to try it. It was his decision and his friends didn’t care: ‘I wouldn’t change it, I am glad that I tried it. I don’t regret it at all’. We can find these people everywhere. They might not look like it, but they still could be a ‘druggy’. We can’t judge them because of their look.

Here are some other celebrities, who took drugs. We all remember Lindsay Lohan as the cute little girl from ‘the parent trap’, the cool teenager from ‘freaky Friday’, and ‘mean girls’. Now we see her on TV only if she did something wrong, again. She got caught driving her car when she was drunk and takes coke. The officers at jail already know her, she spent around 90 days in jail because of drinking and vandalism.

Another one is Mischa Barton, the OC California Star gone wild, she has gotten more press for drug use than for acting. Her marijuana possession has kept her in the spotlight.

The next one is Drew Barrymore. Child star Drew Barrymore’s drug abuse in her teenage years found her controversial fame with two trips to rehab that motivated her to get back on track with her career. Mischa and Lindsay should take her as an idol. If they can’t take the stress from being in the spotlight, they should choose another career. Not everyone is meant to be for this business.

On the last Wednesday of every month, all the students of the Sandpoint’s

Forrest Bird Charter School have something very special…

If you are a student at the Forrest Bird Charter School, you might have noticed

that on the last Wednesday of each month, you get an extended lunch. This idea

was created by James Mize (the culinary arts teacher) and Paul Gunter (Music

Teacher). The normal lunch at the Charter School normally last from 11:35 to

12:05. With this brand new idea, the students can have their lunch for about an

hour.

Students also have the opportunity to dress down for the Wednesday concert if they bring two dollars ro two cans of food. All proceeds are donated to the local Sandpoint food bank. Also, the school lunch only costs three dollars. Not bad a meal and a music concert for less than 5 dollars . The originality is that the lunch is prepared by the cooking class. This class is directed by James Mize. James Mize has teaching at Forrest Bird Charter for many years. Through the years, he has learned what the students really like and want. The thing that take James’ class out of the crowd is the amazing quality of the food. The lunch that they propose for this occasion is much better

than what you will ever find in any other school. By the way, Forrest Bird

Charter School is one of the only school’s in Idaho who supports a cooking

program.

The orginal plan of this extended lunch is that the students can part-take in a concert that is prepared by students of the school. Paul Gunter, the music teacher,

who had the clever idea to offer this concert. ” I like the idea of having an extended lunch each month, it provides an opportunity for students to showcase their talents” he said. The first concert this year was such a success ! It was very creative, we saw a student who made electronic modern music only with his Game Boy. This first gig really made

people excited. The Charter school gives the opportunity the students to practice

their music with a Rock Band class taught by Paul. “This extended lunch gives

the rest of the student body the opportunity to see what their peers have been

working on in music class as well as private lessons”.

The second edition was on october the 24th. This time, 7 differents bands

performed. They were from the middle school and also from the high school.

The audience’s response was awesome…People of New York might have heard

the audience applause ! Most of the music performed was composed just for this

occasion, the result was professional.

Every last Wednesday of the month, the students will have the opportunity to see and to enjoy a concert. To do this concert, Rock Band’s student have to work and to

practice a lot to be prepared. “The show must go on” and for sure, all the concerts that are performed have a real professional quality.

“The groups I choose to play are from my classes or students in the school that are involved in music in some way, shape or form” said Paul. This way, Paul can be sure of the quality of the music that will be performed.

Is the Affordable Care Act right for you? Forrest Bird Middle School Educational Leader, Jennifer Greve shares her thoughts about the Affordable Care Act. “I think that is a good idea and there are some points that need some fine tuning.” Well, that depends on what your yearly income is. If you are under the poverty level, and if you and your children can be insured by the state that you live in then healthcare may be more affordable. The following website shares the Affordable Health Care Act’s poverty line for the United States. http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/13poverty.cfm

Person in the household

Poverty guideline

1

11,490

2

15,510

3

19,530

4

23,550

5

27,570

6

31,590

7

35,610

8

35,630

For families/households with more than 8 persons, and $4,020 for each additional person

If you get insurance from your work then you are okay, unless your employer drops your coverage in favor of the new regulation. If you do not have insurance then do not worry because you can buy insurance right now, just go to this website: http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/.

When asked if they would buy the Affordable Care Act this year, Jennifer Greve said not for my daughter or her because they have insurance, but her husband does not, and they would look into it. When Jennifer Greve was asked if her family would buy health insurance she said no. She would like to wait and see if the price will go down. There are many parts of the to the affordable care act.

If you do not buy insurance than a typical poverty level person will pay a fine of $95.00 per adult or 1% of the family income. The penalty comes down to which one is greater. The window to register for the state offered insurance plan is from October 1st to December 7th every year. If a person does not register during this window they will be fined and not have insurance until the next window opens the next year in October again.

However, due the federal website failures, causing funding issues and the lack of ability for people to sign up, it is a wonder if the Affordable Health Care Plan will be able to get off the ground this year. The American people will just have to wait and see.

12:00am: October 1, 2013, President Obama announced the American Government is going to be shut down. This is the 18th time the American government has been shut down. The last time was in 1995 for 21 days during Bill Clinton’s presidency. The reason why the government shut down this time was the two political parties hadn’t agreed on a budget resolution before the deadline.

The United States government just walked out on the crisis while the economy was still fragile and unstable.

How dare the American Government shut down? But they did. No one thought it is a good idea.

According to economists’ reports, if the government shutdown lasts up to 3 weeks, it will evaporate 5 billion (5,000,000,000) dollars and results in the 4th season of US GDP growth rate decreasing 25%! The government shut down lasted for 17 days.

The two parties, like children, quarreled, the result was it caused a great disruption to America and even the world.

How did it happen? The government needed money to operate – money is from financial budget – financial budget needs congress’s approval. The two parties argue vehemently about whether to increase the national debt ceiling. But this time, the Republican Party stopped the ‘financial budget’ because they outnumbered the Democrats in the House. Then the Republican Party threatened Democratic Party to agree to fund the budget or they would shut the government down.

The government is has now been open since October 17th, 2013. Lots of questions have been asked. Would the business environment deteriorate immediately from the shutdown? Does Congress still have the ability to manage the rest of the country’s business? Will the economy recover after the shutdown?

Everything that is happening is affecting people’s confidence in the government. The government shutdown closed all of the national parks and all of the zoos and museums which are funded with grants by the federal government. All the licenses and certificates stopped being transacted and approved. In some places, nutrition money for women and children was delayed. 1600 programs of children enlightenment were forced to stop, preventing 19,000 children from going to school. The service of providing 1 million meals for the old halted. Some poor people could not use their heaters because the energy aid for the low income families were cut off. The government shutdown had a great impact on Americans, and the people are very dissatisfied with the federal government.

Recently the drama students participated in INTAF (Inland Northwest Theater Arts Festival) a two-day event about drama, acting, and tech for high school students. The festival was attended by over 320 students and offered 40 classes, which ranged from stage combat to belly dancing, stage management, pantomime, fencing, and improvisation techniques. The classes were taught by revered drama instructors and performers from the area. Students also got the opportunity to enjoy several performances and speeches from the very instructors that taught them. The Blue Door Theater, a professional acting company in Spokane, played twice for the audience, and a cabaret singer put on a wonderful performance. Overall there were five showcases (musical performances and one-man acts put on by other students) as well as a catered dinner.

– www.picclick.comA group of drama students in mid-act

Forrest Bird Charter School’s drama teacher, Wendy Thompson said “INTAF was a true dream because students get perspectives of theater arts from professionals, other teachers, and other students. They experienced new tactics and reviewed old ones simultaneously. INTAF is a whirlwind of knowledge, experience, and entertainment. We drove away tired and thrilled. We are already planning to attend next year!” Senior drama student, Charles, added to that by saying “The experience was mind-blowing, and I had a blast. You really got the chance to work with professionals, and that was truly amazing.”

Furthermore there is a buzz throughout FBCS about the drama class having a real shot at the state competition. First however they must place in Districts which are being held on November 23rd at Lake City High school; the top 1/4 to 1/3 of all competitors will progress to state, which is a two-day event held from December 6-7 in Twin Falls, Idaho. The drama class has several entries in most acting categories ranging from original serious to published serious and humorous, and several of their competitors are second-year returners. Wendy Thompson said “I believe we will place at Districts. We have talented actors who specialize in characterization. We work on character building often; when we are on stage we are crazy loud and boisterous, that is usually a sign of FBCS actors evolving and morphing into a new personality. We work hard as a team, and help each other in and outside the classroom to perfect our acts.” This year, the drama class will be performing their acts for FBCS students, teachers, and parents, who can’t make it to the out-of-town shows, to enjoy on November 26th.

– www.picstopin.comThe infamous drama faces

All together the INTAF experience seems like it was pretty magical and an extraordinary experience for the drama class. Hopefully the experience for these talented students continues on through Districts and State. Birds Eye News bids good luck to our fellow classmates on their theatrical arts journey!

Ever been bullied? Ever been the bully? Here’s one fact; bullying is not cool. It doesn’t matter whatever the form is: verbal, cyber, physical, or emotional; it’s still bullying.

– www.pyrblu.comBullying hurts, and leads to depression. Students need to learn to stand against it.

Bullying isn’t just at your home or school, it’s worldwide. Studies have shown that an estimated 200 million kids are affected by bullying across the world that means half of all children are bullied sometime in their life, ten percent of which occurs in the United States. In Canada and Australia one in every four children is the victim of bullying. However across the world the age group that is primarily targeted by bullying is 11-14.

If you lined up seven kids in a row from the grades kindergarten to senior year, one of those seven kids in each group has either been the bully or been bullied. The percentage of students stating that bullying is an on-going problem is 71% while 61% having said that bullying resorted to school shootings. 77% of kids today are being bullied mentally, verbally, and physically however only 14% of that 77% have admitted to being affected. With the introduction of electronics such as texting, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and so on, bullying has morphed into a new sub-branch called cyber-bullying.

Approximately 50% of students are victims of cyber-bullying and only one of ten children that are cyber-bullied will tell their parents about this. Cyber-bullying happens 24/7 and can strike anyone at any time without warning. Only one in four cyber-bullying cases are reported to the authorities and most of the participants of cyber-bullying are surprisingly female. Those that are cyber-bullied have been known to skip school, get into drugs and alcohol, have health problems, and worst of all some cases have resulted in suicide.

Of course you might be wondering: Well, the teachers must be doing something about this. Truth is that teachers only intervene 4% of the time, and one of four teachers find nothing wrong with bullying. They also dismiss bullying as “building character” and “growing thick skin” or even the common “boys will be boys”. In fact, teachers can be both the offenders and the victims in school bullying situations. Teachers don’t just bully the students; they can also bully their fellow staff members and most of this may go both unnoticed and unreported. The victim, if a student, may not trust adults after being bullied by one and could feel vulnerable towards the bully teacher and other bully students. The same might go for the adult victim; however they might feel like more of a “tattle-tail” on their co-workers rather than vulnerable towards them.

Alright, you’re thinking “I’m just a normal person. What could I possibly do to stop bullying?” The answer: anything you can! For those that are being bullied; face the bully and look them in the eye, use a strong firm tone of voice and appropriate language when you tell the bully to stop. If that doesn’t work, go get an adult and tell them what’s going on.

– www.irene-just-thinking.blogspot.com

People that are witnessing someone being bullied, don’t just stand there speak up to the bully. Be an advocate for the “under dog”, be the voice for someone who is too scared to use theirs by speaking up and stopping the bully. Remember SAVE:

S-speak up. “Cut it out.” “We don’t do that at our school.” and so on. But only speak up if you feel the bully isn’t hostile.

A-adult help: report it to the teachers or the principal if the bullying is serious.

V-volunteer solutions: Ask the victim to join you and your friends, or help remove them from the bully’s presence.

E-end the victim’s sadness: “I’m sorry that _____ was mean/did that to you.” cheer up the victim, and if you have been a victim tell them about it.

As for cyber-bullying, put it in your spam-mail where it will be deleted automatically. If the mean e-mail keeps happening, have your parents tell the school, police, or the phone/internet provider. That will stop the bullying by tracking them and stopping their ways of harming you, even closing their account. Also, hang out with your friends if the cyber-bullying is bothering you, just disconnect from the technology world.

If we stand up to the various bullying, we can not only decrease the percentages, but hopefully stop this abuse. Many kids are abused by kids either around their age or older than them and barely anyone notices or cares. So unite, speak up, and stop bullying once and for all.